Material for improved engine operation



Patented Apr. 1, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT 1 1 OFFICE MATERIAL ENI'GINE William J. Backoil, Norman D. Williams, John F.

OLonghlin, Barry L. Hair, and John S. Yule, Chicago, Ill., assignors to The Pure Oil Company, Chicago, 111,, a corporation of Ohio No Drawing.

Application October 31, 1938,

Serial No. 237,940

15 Olaims.

-This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in engine fuels, particularly to fuels to be used in internal combustion engines as, for example, automotive engines.

In the operation of internal combustion engines to remove or prevent deposits of carbon and gum there is invariably formed as a result of the in internal combustion engines. As a result of conditions of combustion, a deposit in the comlaboratory investigation and of commercial usage, bustion chamber of the cylinders, on the piston it has been found that the, materials now in use heads, around the valves and also on the spark fail to eflectively remove the deposits from either plugs, which materially interferes with proper 10 the intake system or the combustion zone, These and eflicient operation of the motor. In the commaterials, although possibly producing a slight bustion zone the deposit causes what is comimprovement in engine operating conditions, are monly known as knocking of the fueicharge in unsatisfactory for the reason that removal or the cylinders. Similar deposits cause the piston prevention of carbon deposits and gum in both rings and valves to stick. This deposit is comthe intake and combustion system is not effected. monly referred to as carbon although it is not In an effort to overcome the deficiencies of the composed wholly of carbon but includes other earlier carbon and gum removing agents, frematerial as mineral matter from road dust drawn quently referred to as solvents, resort was had to into the carburetor, metallic particles, gum and those materials which had a stronger and more rust, etc. The :so-called carbon element of the powerful action, such as halogenated organic deposit is largely a result of incomplete comcompounds. This frequently resulted in the use bustion of fuel and carbonization of mineral oil. of materials which caused corrosion of engine The incomplete combustion of fuel not only acparts which, of course, was highly undesirable. counts for carbon deposition, but undoubtedly The effect of simply increasing the amount of also accounts for a deposit of gum-like material solvent additive has also been tried but this as well, which under the prevailing conditions change generally resultsin increasing the deposit may be in a form ranging from a fairly soft in the combustion zone, apparently as a result of gum to a hard, brittle varnish-like substance. carbonization of the solvent itself or as a result For purposes of convenience, the deposits of maof the effect of the solvent action in the intake terials'in internal combustion engines, described system causing removal of the deposit there, and in the foregoing paragraph, will be referred to as the carrying of the deposit into the combustion carbon deposits. zone where, due to the difference in conditions,

It has also been noted that motor fuels comsuch as temperature and pressure, deposition of posed largely of cracked petroleum hydrocarbons, material resulted and the deposit in the comsuch as the usual gasolines now on the market, bustion Zone increasedform a deposit of a gum-like residue i th 1 We have now discovered that certain combinatake system of internal combustion engines. This @0115 of materials, when used definite Pmpm' deposit. is usually most noticeable in the intake mom in motor fuel, w remov? e q e gum manifold and around the intake valves and is deposits already present and W111 mhlblt or generally referred to as gum. This deposition 40 Egg; i fi ggi gggggf gg iggs zgg f ggg g; fig fj ggigf f ffi fifgg g gzg fi i: While the nature of the solvent effect of the protmn of the intake valves whereb th t posedcombinations is such as to be classed as y 8 Opera mg ti d r the conditions hi h the r efiiciency is materially impaired. very ac un e c y e used, yet the materials'are non-corrosive and do It is an ob ect of this invention to D O not injure in any way the metal parts with which compositor whlch is adapted to be used in they come in contact. The particular materials junction with gasoline or other fuels in internal which compose the product in accordance with mmbustm engines to remwe and/or Prevent this invention are: (1) a high'boiling fatty acid d p s ts o t n tu of carbon a /0r s ester having'a boiling point over 500 F., for ex- Anothel Object of this invention is t P v e ample, butyl oleate, octyl stearate, butyl stearate, a motor fuel which will, when used in internal amyl stearate, amyl oleate, various laurates and combustion engines, result in a material improvepalmitates, etc.; (2) one or more compounds ment in the efliciency of the operation of the boiling over 350 F.havinggumsolvent properties engine. and selected from the group consisting of esters Further objects of our invention will appear from the following description of the invention.

It is known that a number of substances have been used in the past with some degree of success of aliphatic dicarboxylic acids, esters of aromatic acids, cyclic including aromatic ketones. and aliphatic alcohols. Examples of this group are methyl phthalate, amyl phthalate, benzyl benzoing the compositions between these limits that effective diminution or prevention of deposits in both the combustion and intake system may be accomplished.

The composition is preferably used in admixture with motor fuel although it may be separately injected into the motor. It has been found advantageous to periodically, for example, every thousand miles, add solvent mixture inamounts indicated below through the carburetor. For every40 to 50 cubic inches of piston displacement,

one to two ouncesof a preferred solvent combination may be injected into the carburetor or intake manifold. This treatment readily frees the intake system of accumulated gum and carbon deposits and results. in freer valve action and higher operating efficiency. Furthermore, the injection of a preferred solvent in the proportion mentioned results in the loosening of the combustion chamber deposits and piston ring deposits so that these deposits are readily removed when the engine is operated under normal driving conditions. The quantity of such mixture, which, when added to motor fuel, is necessary to effectively remove and/or prevent carbon and gum deposits may vary considerably depending on the type of engine, condition of engine, the particular fuel employed, and the operating conditions encountered. The amount of solvent additive used must be accurately determined by well known engine efficiency tests, the engines of lowest efiiciency usually requiring the greatest amounts of solvent. It has been found by experiment that in some cases deviation from the proportions specified noticeably diminishes the efiicacy of the solvents as indicated by an increase in the deposit in the combustion zone. Generally, a maximum of 5% and usually not over 1% of solvent based on the volume of motor fuel, is sufficient. In general, it has been found that from 0.1% to 0.5% gives satisfactory results.

The following tabulation of data indicates the nature of the results obtained by the use of combinations of solvents within the scope of our invention:

The above tests were made on stock motors mounted on a test block and connected to a dynamometer. A pre-gummed gasoline containing 10 mg. of gum by ASTM testD38l-36 was used as a fuel. A blank run was made in which all conditions were identical with the conditions of the subsequent test run except the addition of the solvent to the fuel.

The figures shown are in grams of deposit obtained from the combustion chamber and intake systems. The intake system deposit comprised all material found up to and including the intake side of the intake valves. The deposits in all cases were carefully scraped from the engine parts until the metal was bare, and were then collected and weighed. In the case of the combustion chamber deposits the material was carefully washed with light petroleum fractions to eliminate irregularities due to varying amounts of oil present in the deposits.

Although the data indicate to some extent the improvement in engine conditions effected, the full extent of the beneficial results obtained can only be completely appreciated when considered together with visual appearance of the intake and combustion areas and'motor performance. Photographs taken of the affected areas of the engine, after blank runs. and after runs made with fuel containing solvent show that the combustion zone especially in the cooler portions, was conspicuously improved both as to a reduction in quantity and as to character of deposit. The deposit instead of being hard and of such a nature as would ultimately seriously interfere with engine operations, the deposit was not only reduced in quantity but was soft and friable and parts of the metal were entirely bare indicating that after a small amount of deposit accumulated it did not adhere to the metal and consequently passed out of the motor in the exhaust gases. A great improvement in the condition of the intake system was also apparent from a visual inspection of the areas generally affected, particularly the intake valve ports and stems. On the blank runs the instake valve stems and guides were coated with a deposit of such a nature as to materially interfere with lubrication and to cause sticking. This condition was not present in those runs in which the solvents were used. It was also observed during the course of laboratory tests, that the engines ran much quieter when operating on a fuel which contained the carbon and gum solvent. It has been observed that the octane number of the fuel necessary to produce a given standard of performance has been lowered as a result of the use of the solvent in the fuel.

Although the use of the solvent in admixture with motor fuel has been more particularly described, it is to be understood that the constituents comprising the solvent may be injected directly into the motor without previous admixture with fuel. For example, the solvent or the constituents thereof may be placed in the carburetor or injected into the head of the motor through the spark plug openings. In such cases approximately one to two ounces of solvent per cylinder may be used. It is advantageous to inject solvent periodically, for example, every thousand miles, into the motor in conjunction with the regular use of the solvent in the fuel and thereby take care of the removal of any deposits they may collect from time to time.

The solvent is also useful in admixture with lubricating oil both for use in internal combustion engines and industrial machinery. When to the specific examples disclosed or to any particular theory or mechanism of the action of the gasoline additive but is to be interpreted as broadly as the prior art permits in view of the following claims.

What we claim is:

1 1. A composition to be used in conjunction with motor fuels comprising 50% to 90% of fatty acid ester boiling over 500 F. and 50% to 10% of ester of aromatic acid boiling above 350 F. and having gum solvent properties at elevated temperature.

2. A composition according to claim 1 where the ester of aromatic acid boiling over 350 F. and having gum solvent properties at elevated temperature is dibutyl phthalate.

3. A composition according to claim 1 where the esters of aromatic acid boiling over 350 F, and having gum solvent properties at elevated temperature are dibutyl phthalate and ethyl benzoate.

4. A composition to be used in conjunction with motor fuels comprising 90% butyl stearate and 10% dibutyl phthalate.

5. A composition to be usedin conjunction with motor fuels comprising 80% butyl stearate, 10%

dibutyl phthalate and 10% ethyl benzoate.

6. A composition according to claim 1 where the fatty acid ester is alkyl ester.

7. A composition according to claim 1 where the fatty acid ester and ester of aromatic acid are alkyl esters.

8. The method of preventing and removing gum and/or carbon deposits from internal combustion engines which comprises contacting said deposits with a composition containing the following in- (al Fatty acid ester boiling a... 500" F so -9o (b) Ester of aromatic acid boiling over 350 'F. and having gum solvent properties at elevated temperature 50-10 9. Method in accordance with claim 8 where the fatty acid ester is butyl stearate and the ester of aromatic acid is selected from the group consisting of dibutyl phthalate and ethyl benzoate.

10. A hydrocarbon motor fuel containing from .1 to 5% of a mixture composed of 50-90% of fatty acid ester boiling over 500 F. and 50-10% of ester of aromatic acid boiling above 350 F. and having gum solvent properties at elevated temperature.

11. A motor fuel for internal combustion engines comprising a major portion of hydrocarbons of suitable boiling range and between .1 and 1% of a mixture consisting of 90% butyl stearate and 10% dibutyl phthalate.

12. A motor fuel for internal combustion engines comprising a major portion of hydrocarbons of suitable boiling range and between .1 and 1% of a mixture consisting of 80% butyl stearate, 10% dibutyl phthalate and 10% ethyl benzoate.

13. Motor fuel in accordance with claim 10 where fatty acid ester is an ester of stearic acid and ester of aromatic acid is an ester of a dibasic acid.

14. A motor fuel in accordance with claim 10 where the fatty acid ester and ester of aromatic acid are alkyl esters.

15. Method in accordance with claim 8 where the fatty acid ester and ester of aromatic acid are alkyl esters.

WILLIAM J. BACKOFF. NORMAN D. WILLIAMS. JOHN F. OLOUGHLIN. HARRY L. MOIR.

JOHN S. YULE. 

